A fluorescent lamp is any light source in which a fluorescent material transforms ultraviolet or other lower wavelength energy into visible light. Typically, fluorescent lamps include a glass or plastic tube that is filled with argon or other inert gas, along with mercury vapor or the like. When an electrical current is provided to the contents of the tube, the resulting arc causes the mercury gas within the tube to emit ultraviolet radiation, which in turn excites phosphors coating the inside lamp wall to produce visible light.
Fluorescent lamps have provided lighting in numerous home, business and industrial settings for many years. More recently, fluorescent lamps have been used as backlights in liquid crystal displays such as those used in computer displays, cockpit avionics, flat panel televisions and the like. Such displays typically include any number of pixels arrayed in front of a relatively flat fluorescent light source. By controlling the light passing from the backlight through each pixel, color or monochrome images can be produced in a manner that is relatively efficient in terms of physical space and electrical power consumption.
Despite the widespread adoption of displays and other products that incorporate fluorescent light sources, however, designers continually aspire to improve the amount of light produced by the light source, to make efficient use of electrical power, and/or to otherwise enhance the performance of the light source, as well as the overall performance of the display. In particular, the behavior of many fluorescent lamps can be highly susceptible to variations in temperature and to so-called “microclimates” within the lamp itself. As a result, various techniques for stabilizing the temperature of the lamp and/or for responding to temperature fluctuations have been attempted, with varying degrees of success.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide devices and techniques for effectively and efficiently managing the temperature of fluorescent lamps. Other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.